Sprint Nextel to Build 4G Network Using WiMax

Sprint Nextel announced today that it plans to use WiMax technology to power its next-generation high-speed wireless network.

The Sprint Nextel 4G mobility network will use the company's extensive 2.5 GHz spectrum holdings, which cover 85 percent of the households in the top 100 U.S. markets.

To access that network, Sprint Nextel will work with Intel, Motorola and Samsung to incorporate WiMAX technology for advanced wireless communications and help make chipsets widely available for new consumer electronics devices.

The company said the new network will provide consumers with wireless Internet speeds on par with DSL or cable modems. Deployment plans target a launch in trial markets by the end of 2007, with plans to deploy a network that reaches as many as 100 million people in 2008. Sprint Nextel plans to expand mobile WiMAX network coverage thereafter.